Bay Networks Announces Hill, Holliday as Agency of Choice; Agency to Take Branding Efforts to Next Level.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 1997--Bay Networks(R), Inc. (NYSE:BAY) today announced that it has selected Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Inc. of Boston, Mass., as its advertising agency. The previous agency for Bay Networks was RSCG Dahlin Smith White in Salt Lake City.

Hill, Holliday will be responsible for defining and developing communications and branding strategies for Bay Networks and promoting the company's stellar line of products most notably, the Accelar(TM) line, Remote Access Servers and internetworking technologies.

"The challenge all the candidate agencies faced was one of defining creative and sound communications strategies and execution programs which lived up to Bay Network's vision of revolutionizing networking through its Adaptive Networking message," said Jeffrey Brooks, vice president of brand management at Bay Networks.

"Hill, Holliday's thinking demonstrated both a sense of breakthrough and balance in linking Bay's products and services to the brand itself."

Hill, Holliday was selected through a rigorous three month review process that included well-reputed agencies such as Amazon Advertising, Calif., Mezzina Brown, and Hanft, Byrne, Raboy, Abrams & Partners, NYC, Long Haymes, Carr, N.C. Hill, Holliday will handle the total advertising assignment for Bay Networks, with media buying supported by Western Media Inc. Billings for the account were undisclosed.

"Hill, Holliday is very excited to be chosen as Bay Networks agency of choice," said Jack Connors, chairman and CEO of Hill, Holliday. "This is our opportunity to provide creative solutions based on a foundation of strategic thinking to a company that is well poised to be the market leader in the networking arena."

About Bay Networks

Bay Networks, Inc. is a leader in the worldwide networking market, providing a complete line of products that serve corporate enterprises, service providers and telecommunications carriers. The company offers frame and ATM switches, routers, shared media, remote and Internet access solutions, IP services and network management applications, all integrated by Bay Networks' Adaptive Networking strategy.

With headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., Bay Networks markets its products and services around the world, providing 7x24 support coverage. For additional information visit the company's World Wide Web site at http://www.baynetworks.com or call 800/8-BAYNET.

This release, other than historical financial information, may consist of forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. For instance, factors which could cause results to differ from future events include the rate of adoption of new technology, competitive pricing actions and marketing programs, among others. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Bay Networks with the S.E.C., specifically the most recent reports on forms 10-K and 10-Q, which identify important risk factors which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. -0-

Note to Editors: Bay Networks is a registered trademark and Accelar is a trademark of Bay Networks, Inc. Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Bay Networks, Inc.

Neha Mirchandani, 408/495-2489

[e-mail]

or

Hill, Holiday

Steve Conroy, 617/859-4388

[e-mail]